What are the Dalat Easy Riders?
Dalat Easy Riders are English-speaking local guides who take travelers around on the back of a motorbike. The guide drives while you sit on the pillion seat behind them — no riding experience needed. As you move through the countryside, they explain what you are seeing: how the farms work, what the villages are, the history of a pagoda, why a particular pass matters. It is part transport, part guided tour, and the combination is what makes it work. You cover far more ground than on foot, but slowly enough to actually stop, look around, and talk to people.
The guides typically have years of experience on these routes. Most speak conversational to fluent English and know the backroads, the best lunch spots, and the local families worth visiting. A good Easy Rider makes the difference between a forgettable day and one of the highlights of a Vietnam trip — and the guides around Dalat tend to be among the best in the country.
How Easy Riders started in Dalat
Easy Rider tours did not begin as a business idea. After the war ended in 1975, Vietnam went through a long period of economic hardship, and work was scarce — particularly for men with language skills and no formal employment. When Vietnam began opening to foreign tourists in the late 1980s, a small group of men in Dalat started doing what came naturally: showing curious travelers around on their motorbikes. They knew the roads, they spoke some English, and the highlands around Dalat gave them something genuinely worth showing. Word spread through guesthouses and guidebooks, and what started as informal rides became a recognized way to explore the region. The name Easy Rider came from the 1969 American film — a fitting reference for guides who built their livelihood on the open road. Dalat was where it all began, and the city remains the heart of Easy Rider culture in Vietnam today.
How to find and book a Dalat Easy Rider
There is no shortage of Easy Rider guides in Dalat. You will find them outside popular hotels, at the central market, and around Xuan Huong Lake — approaching travelers and offering tours on the spot. Booking this way can work out fine, but it is also the most unpredictable option. You have no way to verify the guide’s experience, check reviews, or know in advance what is actually included in the price.
A more reliable approach is to book through a tour operator before you arrive. Reputable operators list their routes, prices, and inclusions clearly online, use licensed and experienced guides, and give you something to refer back to if anything is unclear. It also means the planning conversation happens before the tour rather than on the street the morning you leave.
Choosing your route
Most operators offer standard routes, but Easy Rider tours are flexible by nature. Before booking, think about how much time you have, where you are heading next, and what you actually want to see — waterfalls and countryside, ethnic minority villages, coffee culture, or a mix of everything. If you are moving on to Nha Trang or Mui Ne after Dalat, a one-way route makes more sense than a loop. If you have three or more days, the Central Highlands open up considerably.
A good operator will help you build a route around your interests and travel plans rather than pushing you toward whatever is easiest to sell.
Confirming what is included
Before confirming any booking, check exactly what the price covers. On most day tours this means the guide, motorbike, fuel, helmet and protective gear, entrance fees, and lunch. On multi-day tours it should also include accommodation with breakfast and damage insurance. What is typically not included: dinner, drinks, and personal spending along the way — budget a small amount per day for this.
If something is not clearly listed, ask. A transparent operator answers this without hesitation.
How do Dalat Easy Riders work?
Before the first stop, your guide picks you up at your hotel, usually between 8 and 9 AM. You sit on the pillion seat behind them, put on your helmet and protective gear, and head out. Tours run for a full day, typically finishing between 3 and 5 PM depending on the route and how much time you spend at each stop. The pace is relaxed — there is no rushing from sight to sight. Most guides are happy to linger somewhere interesting or skip something that does not appeal to you.
Passenger or self-drive
The default is to ride as a passenger on the back of the guide’s motorbike. This is what most people do, and it works well — you can focus on the scenery and conversation without thinking about traffic. If you want to drive your own bike with the guide riding alongside, that is possible too, but you will need a valid International Driving Permit (the 1968 version, issued in your home country before you travel). The price is the same either way. Note that if you self-drive, you cannot carry a passenger on your bike.
Gear and safety
A helmet and full protective gear — jacket with body armour, knee pads, and a visor — are provided and worn by everyone, passengers included. This is non-negotiable with reputable operators and a good sign that you are with the right people. The roads around Dalat are winding mountain roads, and proper gear matters.
Luggage
Each person can bring one main bag up to 20 kg and one daypack. The main bag is wrapped in waterproof covers and strapped to the front or back of the motorbike. You cannot access it during the day, so anything you need — sunscreen, a rain jacket, your camera, valuables — goes in the daypack on your back. For multi-day trips, pack accordingly: the bag does not need to be small, but it needs to stay under the weight limit.
Multi-day tours
On routes that take more than one day, the guide arranges accommodation along the way and travels with you from stop to stop. This is where Easy Rider tours become genuinely different from any other way of traveling in Vietnam. Rather than moving between tourist hubs by bus, you pass through towns and villages that see very little outside traffic. Overnight stays are simple — small guesthouses or family-run places — but comfortable enough. Do not expect boutique hotels on the remote stretches of the Central Highlands.
Multi-day tours also make practical sense for one-way journeys. If you are heading from Dalat to Nha Trang, Mui Ne, or deeper into the highlands, the Easy Rider covers the route with you rather than leaving you to sort out transport at the other end.
Group size
Most tours run as private trips — just you and your guide, or your travel group with one guide per person. During the busiest months (July, August, and November through February), some operators combine solo bookings into small groups for popular day routes. If a private experience matters to you, confirm this when booking.
Best Dalat Easy Rider routes
The routes below range from a single day around Dalat to multi-day journeys through the Central Highlands and down to the coast. Which one makes sense depends mostly on how much time you have and where you are heading next.
1. Dalat city highlights (1 day)
A good starting point for travelers who want to get a feel for Dalat itself before venturing further out. The route covers the main landmarks in and around the city — Crazy House, Dragon Pagoda, Xuan Huong Lake, Tuyen Lam Lake — combined with visits to local flower farms and strawberry plantations. It is a lighter day than the countryside loop, with more city context and less riding time. Best suited to people with only one day in Dalat who want an overview rather than a deep dive into the surrounding landscape.
2. Dalat countryside loop (1 day)
This is the classic Easy Rider day and the one most travelers mean when they talk about doing an Easy Rider tour in Dalat. The route heads into the countryside south and southwest of the city, covering Elephant Waterfall, Linh An Pagoda, Pongour Waterfall, Datanla Waterfall, the K’ho minority Chicken Village, a silk factory, mushroom farm, weasel coffee plantation, and flower farms. It is a genuinely full day — expect 8 to 10 hours in the saddle with stops — and covers more ground and variety than almost any other day tour in the region.
The stops are well chosen. Each one shows a different side of how people live and work in the highlands: farming, weaving, processing coffee, producing rice wine. The guides explain as you go, and there is usually time to try things — weasel coffee, rice wine, dried insects if you are willing. It does not feel like a conveyor belt of attractions, which is the main risk with routes this packed.
Tip: Explore Dalat’s countryside with Local Vietnam
Our 1 Day Dalat Easy Rider Tour takes you through the best of the countryside south of Dalat — waterfalls, minority villages, a silk factory, and a weasel coffee farm — on the back of a motorbike with an experienced local guide. Private, flexible, and picked up from your hotel.
3. Dalat to Nha Trang (1 day)
One of the best one-way Easy Rider routes in southern Vietnam. The road from Dalat to Nha Trang drops from the cool highlands down through the Khanh Le Pass to the coast — a dramatic change in landscape over a single day. Along the way you pass flower farms, coffee plantations, and villages of the Raglai people, one of the larger ethnic minority groups in this part of the country. The ride takes most of the day, arriving in Nha Trang in the late afternoon.
It is also a practical choice. Dalat to Nha Trang is a route most travelers do anyway — by bus it is straightforward but unremarkable. Doing it by Easy Rider turns the transfer into the experience itself.
Tip: Travel from Dalat to Nha Trang with Local Vietnam
Our Dalat to Nha Trang Easy Rider Tour covers the full route by motorbike in a day, with stops at local farms, minority villages, and viewpoints along the Khanh Le Pass. A far better use of the day than the bus.
4. Dalat to Mui Ne (1–2 days)
The route southwest toward Mui Ne winds through the Lang Bian Plateau before descending to the coast, passing waterfalls, farms, and highland villages along the way. As a one-day ride it is long but doable. Spreading it over two days gives more time in the highlands and a less rushed arrival.
A good option for travelers heading to the beach who want something more out of the journey than a bus window.
Tip: Ride from Dalat to Mui Ne with Local Vietnam
Our Dalat to Mui Ne Easy Rider Tour takes you through the highland plateau and down to the coast, with stops at waterfalls and local villages along the way. One day, private, picked up from your hotel in Dalat.
5. Central Highlands loop: Ta Dung, Lak Lake and Buon Ma Thuot (3 days)
The best multi-day option for travelers based in Dalat who want to go deeper into the Central Highlands and return. The route heads east through Ta Dung National Park — a landscape of forested limestone islands rising from a reservoir, sometimes called the Ha Long Bay of the Central Highlands — before continuing to Lak Lake, the second-largest natural freshwater lake in Vietnam. The Mnong people have lived around the lake for generations, in stilted longhouses along the water’s edge, and an overnight here gives some sense of that. The final leg continues to Buon Ma Thuot, the coffee capital of Vietnam, before looping back.
Three days is the right amount of time. It is remote enough to feel genuinely off the tourist trail without being so grueling that the riding becomes the whole story.
Tip: Explore the Central Highlands with Local Vietnam
Our 3 Day Dalat Easy Rider Tour covers Ta Dung National Park, Lak Lake, and Buon Ma Thuot — private accommodation included, picked up and dropped off in Dalat.
6. Dalat to Hoi An through the Central Highlands (5–6 days)
The long route. From Dalat the road heads north through Buon Ma Thuot, Pleiku, Kon Tum, and Kham Duc before arriving in Hoi An — following sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail through some of the most remote and least-visited parts of the country. The landscape shifts constantly: pine forests give way to coffee country, then highland plateau, then the forested mountains of the central spine. Along the way there are war history sites, minority villages, and stretches of road where you can go an hour without seeing another tourist.
This is not a route for travelers in a hurry or those who need comfortable hotels at every stop. But for anyone with the time and the right expectations, it is one of the most rewarding overland journeys in Vietnam.
Frequently asked questions about Dalat Easy Riders
Is it safe to ride on the back of a motorbike in Vietnam?
With a reputable guide, yes. Easy Rider guides drive these roads every day and know them well — the corners, the traffic patterns, the conditions in different weather. They are not racing between stops. The risk is not zero, as with any motorbike travel, but sitting behind an experienced local guide on highland backroads is a very different situation from renting a scooter yourself in city traffic. Wearing the provided protective gear properly makes a meaningful difference.
Do I need any experience with motorbikes?
None at all as a passenger. If you want to self-drive, you need confidence on a manual motorbike and a valid 1968-version International Driving Permit obtained before leaving your home country. Without the IDP, self-driving is not an option — there are police checkpoints on several popular routes and the fines for riding without valid documentation are significant.
What should I wear?
Helmet and protective gear are provided, but wear long trousers and closed shoes. The gear covers your upper body and knees, but bare legs are exposed. Dalat sits at around 1,500 meters elevation — it is cooler than the rest of Vietnam, especially in the mornings and on the move. Bring a light layer even in the warmer months. In the November to April period, a proper rain jacket is worth having in your daypack.
Can I bring children?
Yes, though it depends on the age and size of the child. Young children who can hold on and sit safely behind a guide are generally fine. Very small children are not suitable for motorbike tours. If you are traveling with kids, discuss this with the operator when booking so the right arrangement can be made.
What happens if it rains?
Tours run in rain unless conditions are genuinely dangerous. Light rain is common around Dalat and most guides carry ponchos or will stop somewhere covered to wait it out. Heavy or prolonged rain may affect certain stops — slippery paths near waterfalls, for example — and a good guide will adjust the route accordingly. This is one reason an experienced, flexible guide matters more than a fixed itinerary.
Can I customize the route?
Yes, and this is one of the real advantages of an Easy Rider tour over a group bus tour. Most operators are happy to adjust stops, linger longer at places you find interesting, or skip things that do not appeal to you. On multi-day tours in particular, having a rough conversation with your guide at the start of each day about what you want to prioritize makes for a much better experience.
How far in advance should I book?
For day tours around Dalat, booking a day or two ahead is usually fine. For multi-day routes — especially those heading into the Central Highlands or doing longer one-way journeys — book further ahead, particularly during peak season between November and February. One-way routes also require some coordination around your onward accommodation, so the earlier you sort it the smoother the logistics.
Is tipping expected?
It is not expected but it is appreciated, and common practice when the guide has done a good job. There is no fixed amount — something in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 dong per day per guide is reasonable, more for multi-day tours where the guide has gone above and beyond.
There seem to be many operators all claiming to be the original Easy Riders. Who should I book with?
This is a genuine source of confusion. Several operators in Dalat claim to be the original group, and the debate between them has been going on for decades. Rather than getting drawn into it, focus on what actually matters: verified reviews, clear pricing, transparent inclusions, and licensed guides. A well-reviewed operator with honest communication is worth more than any claim about who started first.
Alternatives for getting around Dalat
An Easy Rider tour is the most popular way to explore the countryside around Dalat, but it is not the only option. Here is a quick overview of what else is available.
Renting a motorbike yourself
The cheapest and most flexible option. Rental prices are typically between 150,000 and 200,000 dong per day, and most guesthouses and hotels can arrange one. You set your own pace, stop wherever you want, and cover the same routes the Easy Riders use.
The downside is obvious: you are on your own, without a guide to explain what you are seeing or navigate the roads. Vietnamese mountain roads are manageable for experienced riders, but they are not forgiving for beginners — corners are tight, road surfaces vary, and trucks share the same lanes. If you have solid motorbike experience and are comfortable riding in Asia, this works well. If you are renting a motorbike for the first time in Vietnam, Dalat’s roads are not the place to start.
Private car with driver
A comfortable and practical alternative, particularly for families, older travelers, or anyone carrying more luggage than a motorbike can handle. A full-day car rental with driver starts at around $50 and covers the same countryside routes — waterfalls, villages, farms — just from inside a vehicle rather than on the open road. You lose the immersive feeling of the motorbike completely, but you gain comfort, shade, and a door to close when it rains.
Worth considering as a combination too: car for the longer transfers on a multi-day trip, motorbike for the sections where the riding itself is part of the experience.
Guided tours by other means
Dalat has a wider range of tour formats than most cities in Vietnam, which reflects its reputation as the country’s adventure capital.
Cycling and mountain biking tours are a strong alternative for active travelers. The hills around Dalat make for genuinely good riding, and guided routes cover much of the same countryside as the Easy Rider day tour — just at a slower pace and with more effort involved. The Crazy 8 trail is the standout for mountain bikers.
Jeep tours cover similar sightseeing routes to the Easy Rider countryside loop and are a popular choice for small groups or families who want an open-air vehicle without the motorbike.
For travelers who want something beyond sightseeing, Dalat also has well-developed canyoning, white-water rafting, and trekking options. These are organized as separate activity tours rather than countryside exploration, but they are worth knowing about if an Easy Rider day does not fit what you are looking for.
Tip: Explore Dalat with Local Vietnam
From Easy Rider motorbike tours to canyoning, mountain biking, and countryside day trips, Local Vietnam offers a full range of small group and private Dalat tours — all run by experienced local guides who know the region inside out. Pick up from your hotel included.
